Is Corporate Jamaica Against Dancehall Music?

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Is Corporate Jamaica Against Dancehall Music? - After another successful Carnival season in Jamaica, Dancehall fans are left with a sour taste in their mouths with huge backing from major sponsors, incident free, government endorsement and financial gains. One is then forced to ask: is corporate Jamaica against Dancehall music?

The question has been a topic of discussion over the years and has amassed various opinions from all parties.

Whenever
you see an event taking place in Jamaica, that has police officers as security, no complaints of disturbances
of any kind even at broad daylight, road blocks and traffic aversions on major roadways to accommodate
scantily clad revelers and international promotional campaigns sponsored by
top corporate entities, it does seem obvious that corporate Jamaica is against Dancehall music
as they are yet to do the same for a Dancehall event.

Is
it because Dancehall gets sexual and very hardcore at times? Well,
doesn't Soca music denotes sexual connotations
in every way possible as well? Why bash our natural, cultural invention
and accept with open arms something that was adopted by us from another
country? Is it because Dancehall promotes violence? Maybe, but music,
in general, is a form of expression and based
on experiences of the artists.

It
seems quite unfair to those who use Dancehall music as a means of work,
to provide for families and survive
in such a stressing and manipulative world. It isn't fair to have to
put up with the fight and struggles received from your own people when
large sums of money can be made if only a major investment was provided
by any corporate business located in Jamaica.
There is no need to keep talking about the bad, when that only adds to
the problem. Why not be apart of the solution? Make Dancehall great by
using it as a tourist attraction.

The
same amount of effort put into a Carnival parade can be placed on the
entire Dancehall music industry to make
it a worldwide phenomenon, pulling in huge profits and a sea of avid
fans to our shores to experience it from the source. Everyone would be
making money. Jamaica would flourish, less crime and violence because
everyone would be looking to strike it rich while
having a good time in the process. There would be enough money to go
around so no need to resort to violence to make a quick buck.

There
should be an organized liaison between corporate heads and key players
in the music industry. This meeting
should be judgement free, with open and honest discussions to be had,
where instead of enforcing bans, all participants allow room for
compromise in helping to uplift the Dancehall culture, rather than to
diminish it all together.

Jamaican
people are a determined set and will always try to beat the system if
it keeps working against them. In order to change that
for the best, the bigger heads need to realize the benefits of such a
venture. Dancehall music can be exponentially marketable for the entire
island if only a collaborative effort is made to make it happen.